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FIB ER O PT IC C ABL ES

A fiber optic cable is a cylindrical pipe made of glass or plastic or a combination of glass and plastic. It is fabricated in such a way that this pipe can guide light from one end of it to another. The smallest packet of light is called as a photon. The purity of todays glass fiber, combined with improved system electronics enables fiber to transmit digitized signals well beyond 100 km (60 miles) without amplification. Corning Cable systems in New York were the pioneers in manufacturing optic fiber cables which were commercialized. Basically, a fiber optic cable is composed of two concentric layers termed the core and the cladding. The core and cladding have different indices of refraction. The refractive indice of the core is greater than the refractive index of the cladding. Light is piped through the core. A fiber optic cable has an additional coating around the cladding called the jacket or coating. The jacket usually consists of one or more layers of polymer. Its role is to protect the core and cladding from shocks that might affect their optical or physical properties. It acts as a shock absorber. The jacket also provides protection from abrasions, solvents and other contaminants. The jacket does not have any optical properties that might affect the propagation of light within the fiber optic cable.

Siiz e of Fiiber Opt iic Cablles: Fiber optic cable sizes are specified by first giving the core size and S z e of F ber Opt c Cab es: then the cladding size. Consequently 50/125 means a core diameter of 50 microns and cladding

diameter of 125 microns. 1 micron is equal to 10 6 meters. The above diagram shows typical core and cladding diameter sizes. Source Of Liight: The source of light is either LASER (Light amplification by stimulated emission of Source Of L ght: radiation) or LED (Light emitting diode). How does lliight propagate through a Fiiber Opt iic Cablle? When light enters the core it will strike How does ght propagate through a F ber Opt c Cab e? the core at an angle. If this angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle then the light is reflected back into the core. Thus light traverses the fiber by this concept called as Total Internal Reflection. If the angle at which the light strikes the core is lesser than the critical ang le, then light escapes through cladding (due to refraction) and is attenuated after a certain distance.

Cllassiifiicat iion of Fiiber Opt iic Cablles based on Mode of Propagatiion of Liight: The path taken by C ass f cat on of F ber Opt c Cab es based on Mode of Propagat on of L ght: a ray of light inside the fiber is called as a mode. In the diagram below note that the core size of Multi mode fiber is greater than the core size of Single mode fiber.

Siinglle Mode : In the case of Single Mode Fibers the core size is 8.3 microns or less. The changes S ng e Mode in the refractive index from core to cladding do not vary much. Light thus travels parallel to the axis causing less pulse dispersion.

Step index Multi Mode Fiber: Multimode fibers allow more than one mode of light inside the fiber. Common Multimode core sizes are 50 microns or 62.5 microns. Due to the large core size some of the light rays that make up the digital pulse may travel a direct route, whereas others zigzag as they bounce off the cladding. These alternative pathways cause the different groupings of light rays, referred to as modes, to arrive separately at a receiving point. The pulse, an aggregate of different modes, begins to spread out, losing its well-defined shape. The need to leave spacing between pulses to prevent overlapping limits bandwidth that is, the amount of information that can be sent. Consequently, this type of fiber is best suited for transmission over short distances. Graded Index Multi Mode Fiber: It contains a core in which the refractive index diminishes gradually from the center axis out toward the cladding. The higher refractive index at the center

makes the light rays moving down the axis advance more slowly than those near the cladding. Also, rather than zigzagging off the cladding, light in the core curves helically because of the graded index, reducing its travel distance. The shortened path and the higher speed allow light at the periphery to arrive at a receiver at about the same time as the slow but straight rays in the core axis. The result: a digital pulse suffers less dispersion.

Acceptance Cone: It is the cone-angled area that light must enter in order to "bounce" down the Acceptance Cone: fiber or travel between the core and the cladding.

In the above figure, Light ray A will travel the fiber as it has entered the Acceptance Cone area. Light ray B will not travel thro the fiber, as it has not entered the cone. Operating Wavelength of OFC: Optic fiber cables typically work at wavelengths of 850 nm, 1310 nm and 1550 nm.

Operating Window: There are ranges of wavelengths around which the OFC operates best. Each range is known as Operating window. Each window is centered around the typical operational wavelength.

Attenuatiion: It is the loss of Optical Power as light travels down the fiber. It is measured in dB/km. Attenuat on: Over a set distance, a fiber with lower attenuation will allow more power to reach its receiver than a fiber with higher attenuation. When compared with early attenuation levels of 20 dB per km, today attenuation levels of less than 0.35 dB per km at 1310 nm and 0.25 dB per km at 1550 nm are available. There are 2 types of attenuation namely Intrinsic and Extrinsic. IIntriinsiic Attenuatiion: It is caused by impurities in the glass during the manufacturing process. The ntr ns c Attenuat on: light hitting the impurity might either be scattered (thus preventing total internal reflection) or absorbed (light energy converted into some other form of energy). Extriinsiic Attenuatiion: Macrobending and Microbending cause Extrinsic Attenuation. A Macrobend Extr ns c Attenuat on: is a large-scale bend that is visible. For example, a fiber wrapped around a persons finger. This loss is usually reversible once the bend is removed. To prevent Macrobending all Optic fiber Cables have a Minimum bend Radius specification that should not be exceeded. This is a restriction on how much bend a fiber can withstand before experiencing problems in optical performance or mechanical reliability. The rule of thumb for minimum bend radius is 1 1/2" for bare, single-mode fiber; 10 times the cable's outside diameter (O.D.) for non-armored cable; and 15 times the cable's O.D. for armored.

The second extrinsic cause of attenuation is a microbend. This is a small-scale distortion, generally indicative of pressure on the fiber. Microbending may be related to

temperature, tensile stress, or crushing force. Like Macrobending, Microbending will cause a reduction of optical power in the glass.

Bandw iidth & Diispersiion: Bandwidth is the amount of information a fiber can carry so that every Bandw dth & D spers on:

pulse is distinguishable by the receiver at the end. System bandwidth is measured in megahertz (MHz) at one km. In general, when a system's bandwidth is 200 MHzkm, it means that 200 million pulses of light per second will travel down 1 km (1000 meters) of fiber, and each pulse will be distinguishable by the receiver. Dispersion is the spreading of a light pulse as it travels down the fiber. Light pulses launched close together (high data rates) that spread too much (high dispersion) result in errors and loss of information. Connectors used for Optiic F iiber Cablles: The Connector is a mechanical device mounted on the Connectors used for Opt c F ber Cab es: end of a fiber optic cable, light source, Receiver or housing. It allows it to be mated to a similar device. The connector must direct light and collect light. It must also be easily attached and detached from equipment. This is a key point. The connector is disconnectable. The different types of connectors available for fibers are Biconic, D4, FC/PC, SC, SMA, FDDI, E2000 and ST.

Splliiciing: A splice is a device to connect one fiber optic cable to another permanently. It is the S p c ng: attribute of permanence that distinguishes a splice from connectors. Nonetheless, some vendors offer splices that are not permanent so that they can be disconnected for repairs or rearrangements. The 2 types of splicing which are done are fusion splicing (using an electric arc) and mechanical splicing. The attenuation in mechanical splicing (.05 to .2 db) is greater than fusion splicing (.01 to .1 db).

Attenuators: They are used to deliberately introduce attenuation in systems where high optical transmitter power would otherwise overload receiver equipment. The devices use optical filters to deliver the desired attenuation. Fixed and variable attenuators are available.

Convertors : Convertors are available to convert RS232 to Fiber Optic and RS485 to Fiber Optic Convertors signals. By the use of convertors we can achieve greater distances for a network, which are not possible with a pure RS485 network. In the diagram below The RS232 to Fiber Optic Convertor accepts the input signal from the computer COM port. The Dual fiber Optic convertor accepts input from an RS485 network. This could be an M5E1 network. The dual Optic Fiber convertor has two additional re-transmission ports (which also amplify and tidy the signal) so that the fiber optic loop may be extended to further locations.

The Optic to Optic Driver (line driver) boosts the optical signal before it reaches the last convertor on the loop. The last unit need only be a Single Optic convertor unit because the unit does not have to re transmit the optical signal to any further convertor.

The follllow iing diiagram show s a RS485 to Optiic siignall convertor: The fo ow ng d agram show s a RS485 to Opt c s gna convertor:

Opt iicall Termiinalls: Opt ca Term na s:

Screw Termiinalls: Screw Term na s:

Netw ork to Fiiber Opt iic Compatiibiilliity: Netw ork to F ber Opt c Compat b ty:

Gllossary : G ossary : : Refractive Index: It is the ratio of the velocity of light in vacuum to the velocity of light in the material. Angle of Incidence: The angle of incidence of a ray or beam is the angle measured from the ray to the surface normal.

Critical angle: The critical angle is defined as the angle of incidence, which provides an angle of refraction of 90-degrees. Take a priint -out and try out the Cross Word puz z lle: Take a pr nt -out and try out the Cross Word puz z e:

Across: Across: 1: large cable bend that can be seen with the unaided eye 7: material surrounding the core of a fiber 9: measurement typically used to express the wavelength of light; one billionth of a meter 12: spreading of a light pulse as it travels down a fiber 13: characteristic of light that is emitted from the light source and is measured in nm; can be described as the color of light 15: electronic device that converts input power into a beam of coherent visible or infrared light 17: loss of signal power in an optical fiber 18: LASER stands for light amplification by stimulated _______________ of radiation

20: loss of light energy in an optical fiber resulting from impurities in the glass 22: one millionth of a meter; also known as a micrometer 23: central region of an optical fiber through which light is transmitted 24: equivalent to one million hertz 25: first of three steps in the manufacture of fiber ( Ans. : Laydown) 26: method of fiber manufacture developed by Corning and licensed to Lucent Technologies (abbrev.) (Ans. : IVD) 28: total ______________ reflection 30: the pulling force necessary to break a material is known as ____________strength 31: more than one mode Dow n: Dow n: 1: amount of bend a fiber can withstand before experiencing problems in performance (3 words) 2: measure of optical fiber core deviation from its ideal center position (Ans.: Concentricity) 3: material of which optical fiber is made 4: reflection that occurs when a light ray traveling in one material hits a different material and reflects back into the original material without any loss of light (abbrev.) 5: abrupt change in the direction of a light beam so that it returns to the medium from which it originated 6: optical fiber's form of transmission 8: Corning's method of fiber manufacture: outside vapor _________________ 10: pathway in which light travels down a fiber 11: semiconductor device that emits noncoherent optical radiation when biased in the forward direction; a.k.a. light-emitting diode 14: equivalent to one billion hertz 16: having only one path for light transmission 19: information-carrying capacity 21: small microscopic bend usually not visible to the unaided eye 23: material put on a fiber during the draw process to protect it from the environment 27: third step in the fiber manufacturing process (Ans. : Draw) 29: state where Corning developed first, low-loss optical fiber (abbrev.)

Find Answers in the attached document Ans-key.

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